Statistics are presented on infant mortality rates according to race, sex, family income, education of mother, and education of father. The statistics are based on data collected by a questionnaire mailed to mothers of legitimate births and to medical care facilities and mothers of legitimate infant deaths. Samples were selected from records of…

This study analyzes the effects of one environmental property, illumination, as part of a general program to isolate differential effects of specific properties of the novel environment on attachment behaviors in infants and young children. Attachment is operationalized into two response classes: (1) proximity to the mother, and (2) contact with…

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) has prepared a selected computer-generated bibliography from recent international journals on sudden death in infants. Each of 108 citations is accompanied by descriptors selected from the NLM's list of medical subject headings to facilitate the use of the retrieval system for those who are interested in…

This document reports a study investigating the effects of father absence on measures of cognitive, social, and motivational development in infancy. The sample included 54 black infants, 27 of whom were classified "father-absent." This classification was based on two indices, (1) a dichotomy of father-absent or father-present based on…

Ten mother-infant dyads were observed in their homes for four hours each during one month in order to measure interactive aspects of their behavior. Demographic data are included for the participating families, who are members of the Wolof in Senegal, Africa. For this study, interaction was defined as a sequence of behaviors involving both…

Sixty-five Kikuyu infants were developmentally evaluated (Bayley Test) at two-month intervals during the first year of life. Precocity was demonstrated for mental as well as motor test performance. Familial economic status was positively related to infant performance. Social and demographic variables contributed at least 25% to test score…

Investigating learning by imitation in infants and young children, this study addresses itself to the following issues: whether there is systematic accommodation, whether this imitation follows a universal sequence, how the development of an act over many trials relates to the development of indicators over many months, and what the phenomenon…

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not infants who had experienced different types of naturally-occurring, significant separations from an attachment figure during the first year of life differed in their response to separation at 12 months of age. Thirty-three 12-month-old Caucasian infants from middle class, intact families…

Reviews the major transitional object (TO) theories in terms of origin, development, and psychological meaning. Examines the validity of TO (intense, persistent attachments young children develop for blankets, soft toys, and bits of cloth) theory in light of current empirical knowledge of TO behavior. (HOD)

Effects of depressed mood on mother-infant interaction were studied in 30 mother-infant dyads using a mood induction procedure consisting of neutral or self-referent statements. Among results were that mothers in the depression induction condition were less successful in eliciting positive responses from their infants than were controls.…

Investigated the criterion-related validity of the Battelle Developmental Inventory (BDI) when used with 70 handicapped children less than 30-months-old. Compared scores with those on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Supported the validity convincingly using multivariate data analyses. Commends the BDI's value in assessing delays in…

Gaze patterns of retarded and nonretarded infants (N=16) during play and instruction with their mothers were compared at two developmental ages (5-10 and 11-16 months). Regardless of group, situation, or age, infants were overwhelmingly oriented toward the toys. Configurations of looking patterns were more consistent across ages among the…

Examined extent to which infant-mother attachment could be predicted by mother interactional variables and infant proneness to distress. Meta-analysis indicated that sensitive, responsive maternal interaction predicted the security of attachment in Ainsworth and Wittig's "strange situation." Proneness to distress, a temperamental variable,…

Examines the relation between maternal social networks and mother-infant interactions in 34 mother-preterm and 20 mother-full term dyads with infants aged six months. Results demonstrate that, although full-term infant birth is typically positive, it is less clear that preterm birth is positive, with the result that network members are unsure of…